Afterimage
by Troid
Summary: All that remains is the girl with the beautiful, aqua-blue, sky-deep, sometimes red eyes. Kris is Lyra's shelter, her shield, and her only tether to sanity. Femslash and yet more Lyra/Kris and yes, it's another damn kink meme fill. Plus more crazy Lyra.


Prompt: "Lyra is schizophrenic, and Crystal is her imaginary best friend, while Ethan/Gold tries snapping her out of it. She struggles between knowing realiy and illusion.

If pairings are necessary, I like Lyra/Crystal and Lyra/Ethan."

Pairing: Lyra/Kris

URL: thread=3568645#t3568645

A/N: More of my unhealthy obsession with insane Lyra. I don't know if I did as well as I could have, but I couldn't resist writing this. Please tell me what you think!

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><p>His voice has faded to an echo on the edge of her consciousness. She cannot understand his words anymore.<p>

She turns to Kris for guidance. Kris is there, always and forever there for her. Should she listen? Should she try to reach the surface?

Or sink even further.

Kris shakes her head, vividly blue pigtails bobbing. "No, Lyra. You won't be going back there for a while."

Can't she, just for a little while? Just to say good-bye?

Kris's smile is sad. "I wish you could."

Well, that's okay. After all, she has everything she could ever want right here in those watercolor eyes and those enveloping, possessive arms.

His voice is more insistent, and for an instant she almost makes out what he's saying. But Kris slides her hands gently over her ears, and Lyra sighs contentedly and drifts off to sleep.

o – o – o

When she was four years old, she told her mother one day, "Kris protects Lyra!"

When her mother asked who Kris was, she pointed proudly to the blue-haired girl standing beside her. "Kris will save Lyra from all the bad stuff."

Her mother nodded, a knowing look in her eyes. It was good, she thought, that Lyra had finally found a friend—even if she was imaginary.

So many years later, Kris was still with her.

o – o – o

When she meets Ethan, she is in the middle of a conversation with Kris.

He says, "Who're you talking to?"

She tells him oh, no one. She has long since stopped arguing with the silly blind people who cannot see Kris.

"Okay," he says with a shrug. Then: "My name's Ethan. I'm a Trainer, too."

Lyra tells him her name, and they talk for a while before Ethan gets a call on his Pokégear.

"Listen, I'll see you the next town over," he says, looking distracted. "Later!"

She goes back to her conversation. "You're growing into a real woman, Lyra," Kris says. "I'm so proud of you."

She blushes. She is almost as old as Kris now, isn't she?

"Yes, you are," laughs Kris. "But you're even a step ahead of where I was at your age."

She wants Kris to tell her again about being the Champion.

Kris shakes her head. "You've heard that story enough."

Then tell her about beating Red!

"Lyra!" Kris snaps. "You know I don't like talking about that." Because nobody remembers.

Lyra is hurt, because _she_ remembers. Isn't that enough?

Kris's face softens. "I'm sorry." She pauses for a moment. "You're beautiful, Lyra..."

Her hand brushes against Lyra's chin, and the younger girl shivers at the fleeting contact.

"I can't wait to see you make it to the top." She teases a lock of Lyra's hair.

She never would have made it this far without Kris.

"You're strong, Lyra."

No, Lyra is weak. Kris is strong.

"Don't say that." A frown mars Kris's features. "You would be fine without me."

Without her?

_Without Kris?_

Her scream shatters the stillness of the night.

o – o – o

"You trust me, don't you?"

She does, but he was just—

"You trust I know what's best for you."

He was only being nice!

"Oh, yes, because you've had so many experiences with _nice_ boys."

Don't talk about—

"If you want things like they were back then, go ahead and _go out with_ him. You'll see how nice he is when he's calling you—"

Don't say it!

"Then listen to me!"

Kris is only doing this because she wants Lyra all to herself.

"Yes, Lyra, that's right. And I want that because it's what _you_ want."

o – o – o

Kris was her shield, her escape from a hostile world. And she was right. Lyra wanted her to be possessive. She wanted Kris to hold her close. That made things right.

She trusted Kris, because Kris knew what was best for her. So when Kris told her to stay away from Ethan, she agreed.

The next town over, she met Ethan again.

o – o – o

He smiles when she asks what he wants to do with his life, and says with pride, "I'm gonna be the Champion!

Lyra nods. She knows it's the ultimate goal of any Trainer. But she has a very different aim.

When he poses her the same question, though, she simply replies as he did.

What Lyra really wants is to summit Mt. Silver, to find that arrogant liar everyone loves, and tear him down so everyone will know the story of the _first_ girl to do that. Kris's story.

Ethan even mentions Red once, but it's not in the usual manner of adulation and she can forgive him for it.

When she answers him, he grins. "I guess that makes us rivals, huh?"

She laughs and tells him that out of the two of them, it would probably be he who makes it.

"Hey, I bet you'll get there, too." He sounds reassuring. "I'll see you at the top!"

o – o – o

She cringes when Kris speaks. "You didn't keep your promise."

Lyra knows. She forgot.

"You weren't supposed to talk to him at all. He'll hurt you, Lyra."

Kris doesn't know that.

"Oh yes, I do." Kris's pale eyes pierce her. "Next time, I won't let you do that."

She's sorry, and...there won't be a next time.

Kris nods. "Good."

o – o – o

The next time, and the next, and the time after that, she wears to Kris she won't see him again.

And does, again.

Each time, the look in Kris's eyes is more dangerous.

o – o – o

"—ra? Lyra?"

She blinks, confused, and says, "What?" And the moment she speaks, everything begins to go wrong.

"You spaced out for a second there." He takes her hand. "You feeling okay?"

"Fine," she says, shaking her head as if to clear it of those images of Kris.

She looks around. Where has Kris gone?

Those images of Kris with a red tint in her irises and a terrible bloodstained smile persist, but when her eyes focus she sees the girl's hair is not blue but brown.

"Fine," she says again. "What were you saying?"

"Oh, just about the Gym, you know..." He smiles, and suddenly his face transforms into a horrible, impossibly stretched leer. "_I thought it was too easy._"

She screams and scrambles backward, sliding off the bench and onto the floor of the restaurant. The people around them turn and stare, and their faces are _wrong_ too, with hideous sunken eyes and gaping mouths. She screams again.

Ethan is coming closes to her, saying, "_What's wrong?_" And in a voice that is his but isn't she hears him add, "_Scardey-cat, scardey-cat, you can't get away._"

She's on her feet, and she bolts out the door and runs across the street without even looking at the oncoming cars. She runs until she can't see the diner any longer, and then she keeps running. Everything is disfigured, terrible. The sky is clawed hands reaching down to tear her apart, the trees are spikes begging to be soaked in her blood, the people are—_Oh God, Kris, please help me!_

When she finally stops, Kris is waiting for her. "This is what happens when I leave you on your own."

Her chest burning, her eyes stinging with tears, she begs Kris's forgiveness. Please, please please please, don't let Lyra see these things. Please.

Kris grabs her and kisses her full on the mouth, holds her tight. "Don't worry," she says, kissing her again in between the words. "I won't ever leave you."

If she ever did, Lyra would fall apart.

"That's not true. You can be strong, Lyra. But as long as you need me, I'll be here."

Forever, Kris. Lyra will need you forever.

"If that's what you want."

o – o – o

She never told Kris about her goal of defeating Red, mostly because she thought Kris would be angry. Kris always wanted to forget it, move on, just like the rest of the world, but that wasn't good enough for Lyra.

Lyra was hell-bent on making sure the whole world knew Kris's name.

o – o – o

When she sees Ethan on the way to the next city, it's difficult to explain how she acted, but she is able. Ethan is sympathetic when she tells him how she's been since childhood; while he doesn't seem to have a particular understanding of the subject, he does not make fun of her.

They pick up where they left off.

When night has fallen, and they are sitting on a bench in the National Park, Ethan leans in and kisses her.

She doesn't resist. She doesn't feel anything, either.

He kisses her again, and keeps kissing her, and their bodies are very close. His hands are moving over her clothes.

Still she does nothing.

Then, she gags violently, pulls her mouth away from his, and shoves him off her. He hits the ground awkwardly, struggles to rise, and she dashes away while he shouts her name.

o – o – o

That night it is Kris she runs to, Kris whose arms she falls into, Kris whose lips she tastes. She desperately throws herself at the older girl, and Kris responds with sweet nothings and a firm grip to tether Lyra to sanity, safety, her. When Lyra begs, it is only for what Kris already knows she wants and is more than willing to give her. That night they are one, with no boundary between where Lyra ends and Kris begins, body or mind.

Because when Lyra glances at the mirror, she is terrified until she realized the hair of the girl with the red tint in her sad eyes and the bloodstained smile is blue, not brown.

In the darkness, it's hard to tell [the difference].

When Kris's fingers bring her over the edge, her cry is one of ecstasy rather than fear. She imagines herself beaten, broken, lying in a ditch. The girl lying there has hair that isn't blue or brown. It's not her. Oh, God, Kris, _yes!_

Flushed, she collapses against Kris. She doesn't want Kris to stop touching her, even just to remove that hand from beneath her.

_Her_ hand. Kris's hand.

Lyra moans and bucks her hips, then pushes herself up to straddle Kris. She asks teasingly how Kris is restraining herself, just like someone in an adult story would ask, and she giggles at that thought. Then she realizes Kris isn't moving at all. She sucks in a breath and

o – o – o

Kris was where she hid, where she escaped from the things that threatened her fragile sanity. She was weak; she'd been born weak. She needed Kris to protect her, because on her own she didn't know how, couldn't find the strength.

She thought she could remember when she met Kris, even though she was only four, and couldn't possibly remember. She had awoken crying from her latest nightmare, expecting to find a wakefulness no less populated by terrors, but for once she was alone. Almost alone.

The first thing Kris said: "I want to take your heart."

She hadn't understood at first, so the girl laughed and explained. "I'll save you from all the bad stuff, Lyra."

At that instant, when Kris said her name, she knew everything was going to be all right. Those watercolor, aqua-blue, sky-deep, sometimes red eyes were comfort. Those enveloping arms were safety.

Kris brushed the leftover blood from the back of her head as though it were dust, and she smiled a smile without malice. "You don't ever have to be scared again."

She asked the girl what her name was.

"Lyra."

Well, that seemed silly; that was _her_ name. She asked again.

"Lyra!"

She gave Kris a strange look. That couldn't be her answer. So why was she saying—

o – o – o

"Lyra!"

She snaps back to wakefulness, or perhaps reality, and she finds Ethan approaching her. "Don't run away," he says. "Please. I want to apologize."

This time, she doesn't make the mistake of speaking.

"I'm really sorry for how I acted last time." It is the awkward apology of a boy not used to giving them, but he seems sincere. "Do you forgive me?"

She does.

He nods, relieved. "Thanks. Look, if you do still want to see me again, I'll be around Blackthorn..."

And that reminds her just how close they are to the Pokémon League. After that, if she can defeat the Champion, nothing will stop her from reaching the top of Mt. Silver and finally ending the silly legend of Red. Then the world would know Kris's name.

o – o – o

"I'm so proud of you." Kris gazes at her with tears in her eyes, a loving smile on her face. "You did it."

This is only the first step, Lyra knows, but she does not tell Kris that. As Lance records her victory in the Hall of Fame, all that she can think is that this database has the testament to Kris's triumph, too. She is nothing compared to Kris.

"Lyra," says Kris with emotion choking her voice, "you are. You're worth everything I am. You have to believe that." She is crying in earnest now—much more than her happiness would seem to warrant. She is still smiling, but...

Lyra is confused. Did she say that aloud? How did Kris know she was thinking that? Then again, Kris knows her very well. They've been together since Lyra was a child, and they've shared so much with each other.

"Please, Lyra." Kris wipes her eyes, but it makes little difference. "You have to appreciate who you are. All you've done. You're important Lyra. To me, to the world, to everyone."

But not as much—

"_Lyra!_" Kris's shout silences even her thoughts. "Listen to me! I am then, you are now. If you don't—"

Kris is such a strong woman.

"You stupid girl! Listen to me! Listen to me!" Kris is screaming, but with her sobs she shows more grief than anger. "For God's sake, Lyra, if you love me, then listen to me!"

Lyra wonders if maybe Kris will marry her.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she sobs. "I don't want this! I don't want you to beat Red!"

That briefly derails Lyra again. Kris knows?

"Of course I know. Oh, Lyra, please, don't do this. Don't. You are important. You matter. If you do this, you'll—you're going to—" Her voice breaks. "I can't. I can't tell you. Just, please, if you—"

Imagine if they did get married. Would they adopt children? Or, you never know, with science advancing so fast...

"_No!_" Kris is crying too hard to be coherent. "Lyra! Lyra! Answer me! Don't do this!"

It's already done.

o – o – o

The cold was intense.

The once-champion looks at her with those dark, ugly eyes of his eyes, and says nothing.

Kris is silent, too, but Lyra doesn't care. This is it. Finally, she's achieved her goal. Red is beaten, and now everyone will now the truth—that his golden reign really ended years ago.

"You faker!" she shouts at him. "Admit it! Admit you lost to Kris, or I swear I'll throw you off this mountain."

"...Who?" His voice, like everything about him, is unpleasant.

"Kris!" she screams, and the blue-haired girl flinches slightly.

Red looks her straight in the eyes. "I don't know who that is."

She has never felt such rage.

"Liar! Liar!" She yells it over and over, and in the howling wind it echoes back _Lyra, Lyra_. "I'll kill you!"

The next moment she is atop him in the snow, bringing her fists crashing down into his head, his chest, anywhere and everywhere she thinks will hurt him the most. Her smile is wide and bloodstained. Kris is crying again.

Lyra realizes the truth now. Red killed her, killed Kris, and he tried to kill her, too, and—

"Lyra! Stop!" Ethan runs to them and tries to pull her away. He is frightened. "Stop, stop!" He was there? He watched them battle? She imagines him watching as Red tries to kill her as he must have killed Kris, not doing anything, only coming running when _Red_ is in danger. She grips a jagged chunk of ice, lashes out, and he falls to the ground.

She must stop hitting Red at some point, for her arms are on fire—he is already unconscious, or maybe dead. From that position, kneeling in the snow, soaked in her own sweat, she looks up at Kris with a moan. What is the truth? Did Red kill her? Did Red try to kill _her?_Did she imagine it all? Make it all up? She has to know, because—and it scares her as she realizes this—she doesn't.

Kris is trembling; Lyra is, too. She takes Lyra's hand in her own, Kris's hand, hers, Lyra's, and looks at the girl with her eyes so blue, so brown, so ghastly blood-red, and

o – o – o

The person called Kris sits across from her in the small room. Ethan has left, not that she noticed him. She doesn't see anyone, or even the room, or sometimes herself. But she sees Kris.

Kris is real. That's the only truth that matters. The Hall of Fame would show it if you looked.

Kris is love. Kris is everything.

Lyra's something, too. Kris was right. Lyra's the girl who beat the League faster than anyone, who brought an end to the era of Kanto's golden boy. She saw him on TV, on her way in, returning to his hometown. She couldn't care less what became of him now.

She knows she has made the right choice. She's chosen Kris to love, and that's all she will ever need.

If Kris isn't real, who carried her down from the mountain? It wasn't Ethan. It wasn't Red.

She asks Kris if she can say hello to Ethan next time.

Kris shakes her head, with a sad smile on her lips and in her perfectly, always blue eyes. "I wish you could."

Maybe someday?

Kris looks at her with a broken heart. "Maybe."

But it isn't true.

None of it is true.

Lyra asks, "Kris, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Lyra," she replies, mimicking Kris's voice.


End file.
